~ Journey Notes

Author Archives: Robert Crowder

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

(Hebrews 11:1; King James Version)

This is the only place in the Bible where Faith is defined. And yet, time and time again we are told about believers having faith and its importance in the life of the believer. The Bible instructs us that we must have faith to be saved.

The eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews captures example after example of men and women who had faith and the results of their faith. This eleventh chapter of Hebrews has been labeled “the Hall of Faith” in the Bible.

As the title of the Book defines, the letter was written to Jews who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah. And having believed, they were enduring great trials of persecution, which could cause some to relapse.

Peter expresses the importance of maintaining faith when faced with times of trials – 1 Peter 1:3-9

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Others Have Walked In Your Shoes

The writer’s goal is to show that throughout history, others have demonstrated faith! And for those reading this epistle, in the midst of trials there is POWER through FAITH.

It is crucial that the believer knows what faith is. A man without faith cannot please God. Hebrews 1:6:

Hebrews 1:66 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

There may not be a more important verse in the New Testament than Hebrews 11:1. You might say, what about John 3:16 and you would have a good argument. But without faith, there would be no belief. You see salvation is based on faith, repentance, and trust.

John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

Everlasting Life is formed when we “Hear God’s Word, Repent of our Sin and Believe that God Sent His Son as our payment for sin. This requires Faith.

English Standard Version

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Let’s define the words of this verse…

Faith – is a Spiritual reality

Assurance – the quality of confidence which leads one to stand under, endure, or undertake anything.

Hope – expect, in a religious sense, to wait for salvation and joy and full confidence.

Conviction – approve, that by which a thing is approved or tested. “True faith is not based on empirical evidence but on divine assurance, and is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8)”1

Not Seen – metaphorically, to see what the mind’s eye, to discern mentally, observe perceive discover understand.

Christian Standard Bible

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.

This video is the sermon of this text. Lakeview Baptist Church, Belton, TX on July 2, 2017.

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The pastor’s wifenormally is seen in the background of most churches. These dedicated women of God have been thrust into a lifestyle and conditions not of their own choosing. And yet, behind every good pastor, is a good pastor’s wife.

I personally believe that I have been given by God, the best wife. Not only is she loving and caring for me, her children and grandchildren, but she cares for a different family, not of blood, but of the spirit. The church in which her husband serves.

My wife Linda, is loving, compassionate, dedicated, and led by the Holy Spirit woman. I am so amazed by her attentiveness, commitment, and swaying devotion to the church family.

I want to tell you about an incident that happened this last Sunday. I was preaching in the place of another pastor, at a church that we’d only visited two times before, and it was Father’s Day. I preached a Father’s Day message out of the Christmas story. The point of the message was that God not only choose Mary to be the mother of Jesus, but he chose Joseph to be the father, the earthly father of Jesus. It would be his task to teach the Son of God him how to be a man. Teach him the Jewish lifestyle and the law. Joseph would teach Jesus the tradecraft of being a carpenter.

Towards the end of the service, I asked all the fathers to approach the altar. I had them spread across the front of the church and then I asked the family members to join them. Those fathers had their family members join them at the altar, except for two, I noticed. They were older, and were standing there all by themselves. I remembered thinking that it was a shame that they would be standing alone during this portion of the service, however, I turned my attention to the remaining fathers. I asked the family members to love on their fathers and pray for them at the altar and that I would give them time for them to accomplish this. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my wife get up out of her chair, moving to stand between the two men who had no family to stand with them. She spoke softly to each one of them and then reached out and took her hands into hers. She pulled them in close and prayed for each one of them just as any other family member would do. As each of the families completed their time of prayer, they went back to their seats, and Linda, stood on her tiptoes and kissed each of these fathers on the cheek and then she returned to her seat.

I have to tell you, I was in awe and very proud of my wife. Such a simple and honest gesture allowed these two men to join in in this part of the dedication service.

After the ceremony was over as I left the podium and went to be with Linda, I saw a woman move over to speak to her. I overheard part of the conversation. She said, “You sure are a good pastor’s wife. I saw those two men standing there but I didn’t think to get up out of my seat and go participate in the service with them. But you did!” With a smile on her face Linda just shrugged off the complement and turn to get her things.

I smiled, with the pride and love for this pastor’s wife. My wife. Linda.

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The Gospel According to Luke

The Gospel According to Luke is positioned as the third book of the New Testament and is the longest of the four Gospels, containing 24 chapters and 1151 verses. It is considered one of the three “synoptic” Gospels, written somewhere between AD 58-60. Luke is also attributed as the writer of the “Acts of the Apostles.”

Among most theologians and commentators, there is little doubt that Luke, the “beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14), is the author of the “Gospel According to Luke.” They also believe that Luke was a Gentile according to the Apostle Paul’s own hand. In the fourth chapter of Colossians, Paul differentiates between those “who are of the circumcision” and lists other fellow servants (who are not included in the circumcision, obviously Gentiles). It is in this group that Paul mentions Luke. It is believed that Luke was a native of Antioch.

He is mentioned as the travelling companion of Paul in Acts 16:10, and were close traveling companions during Paul’s second and third missionary journeys referring to Luke as his “fellow worker.” Luke was with Paul during his imprisonment at Rome (2 Timothy 4:11).

The introductory remarks (Luke 1:1-4) indicate that there were many written accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that he found to be wanting. Therefore, Luke, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, undertook writing a Holy Spirit inspired version of the life of Jesus Christ, presenting a complete and thoroughly verified account of the early history of the Christian Church. It is apparent that as Luke traveled with Paul, he talked with Paul, other Apostles, eyewitnesses and believers, gathering the content of this Gospel. Luke, as an educated man, provides a more detailed account of the life and ministry of Jesus than the other Gospels.

As a historian, Luke’s account can be easily established by the known historical events. Luke records Jesus birth taking place before the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC. Jewish history records the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus began approximately 27 A.D. (Luke 3)

Luke contains the lineage (from Mary’s point of view) and the events surrounding the birth of Jesus in great detail, confirming the fulfillment of prophecy of the birth of the Messiah. The announcement of the birth of John and Jesus, the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, the story of the announcement to the shepherds who came to worship Jesus at night, Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger, Jesus circumcision on the eighth day, all of which are not included in the other Gospels.

Luke, as an educated man and a doctor details the unusual conception of Jesus, “a virgin espoused to a man whose name is Joseph.” Luke includes the circumcision of Jesus (Luke 1:59, 2:21). The next time we meet Jesus, he is 12 years of age. It was when Jesus was not found in the caravan that Joseph, Mary and Jesus were traveling. Luke says; “after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.”

Luke shares much of the information found in the other two synoptic Gospels, Matthew and Mark, including the ministry of Jesus in His early Galilean ministry and his latter ministry centered on Jerusalem. Luke recognizes Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ, as a turning point in the lives of the Twelve as well as the ministry of Jesus. Luke details in the arrest of Jesus, His many trials, His passion and ends his Gospel centering on the resurrection of Jesus. He records 20 miracles of Jesus and lists 18 parables which only occur in his Gospel.

Only in Luke’s Gospel do we find the parables of the Money Lender and the Two Debtors, (Luke 7:41–43), The Good Samaritan, (10:25–37), The Friend at Midnight, (11:5–8), The Rich Fool, (12:13–31), The Vigilant Servants, (12:35–48), The Barren Fig Tree, (13:6–9), The Great Banquet, (14:16–24), The Unfinished Tower, (14:28–30), The Unwaged War, (14:31–32), The Lost Coin, (15:8–10), The Prodigal Son, (15:11–32), The Unrighteous Steward, (16:1–13), The Rich Man and Lazarus, (16:19–31), The Unprofitable Servants, (17:7–10), The Importunate Widow, (18:1–18), The Pharisee and Publican, (18:9–14), The Ten Pounds (19:11–27).

Only Luke includes the story of Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree in order that he might see Jesus (Luke 19:1-10). Luke shows love to the unlovable according to the Jews. Jews hated the Samaritans, Luke includes the story of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed, however, only the one expressed his gratitude for what Jesus had done, and he was a Samaritan. And we are all familiar with the parable of the man who fell among thieves on the road to Jericho. It was a Samaritan who came to his rescue, befriended the man and covering the cost for his care.

Another interesting point in Luke’s Gospel, is his special attention to prayer. In all of the Gospels, there are 15 different prayers captured by the writers. Luke records 11, each of the other Gospels highlight 4 or less. Luke records for us a significant portion of Christ teaching on prayer, not recorded in the other Gospels.

The manner in which Luke wrote his Gospel, appeals to the general populous, particularly to the intellectual Greek mind, even though it was written to Theophilus (Luke 1:3). Jesus is portrayed in the gospel of Luke as the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior of all mankind. Luke includes the intimate events of Jesus kindness toward women, the infirmed, poor, children, outcast, and those who were suffering.

Luke includes the raising of the dead servant of a Roman Centurion (leader over 100 men(Luke 7:1-10), and the calming of the sea in which the storm was filling their boat (Luke 8:23-24). Luke includes Jesus forgiving sins, which only God could do in Luke 7:48.

Luke’s Gospel could be generally acknowledged as portraying Jesus as the perfect man. Luke uses the phrase, “Son of Man” 26 times.

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Together with 1 John 3:6, Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him, are difficult to understand.

These verses must be examined with the entirety of John’s first epistle. For example, 1 John 1:8 and 10, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” and “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” John is clearly teaching that the Christian sins. Understanding that John clearly is not teaching sinlessness on the part of the Christian, then we must surmise that John’s intent is easily definable within the text.

John’s intended audience are Christians, “Whosoever is born of God”, and not to a select few “super Christians.” Therefore, his writing affects the entire body of believers in Christ. John’s point is “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.” It is important to know that John is declaring the total absence of all sin, and not just the continuing, practice or keeping on of sin. Some Bible translations translate this verse as: “no one who is born of God will continue to sin,” (NIV). While others will use, “makes a practice of sinning” (ESV, NASB). However, this is not the original Greek. Since God is the source of the Christian birth and he is completely holy and perfect, he cannot “beget” a partially perfect child. “Like-begets-like.”

For the apostle John, the idea that a Christian will continually or habitually practice sin goes against everything that John intends. John clearly defines that man is sinful, and that no sin is allowed in the Christian in order to have fellowship with God.

For John, the believer is in a constant state of struggle with the old man, which is an enemy of God, and the new man which is a born-again believer. The war is between the “inner man which is a believer’s new nature, and the old man whose nature is a sinful nature of Adam. The “inward man” tries to serve the law of God, but the outward man serves his flesh.

We can never be free of this nature, however, the inner man, being the image of a perfect God, is regenerated and does not commit sin. (Romans 7:20-25; Galatians 2:20). The “old man” sins, however the “new man” does not and cannot sin, according to John.

Caution; John does not intend to present the Christian as being able to become sinless perfection in the outward man. Sin does exist in the believer’s life, but it is foreign and extraneous to the inward regenerated man where Christ dwells in perfect holiness.

In light of I John 2.6, the Apostle John is describing what a “Christ Like Walk” would resemble.

1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

In this passage,John also includes why a new Christian cannot attain a “Christ like” walk.
A Christ like walk is attained, based on the maturity level of the believer. Therefore, it cannot be achieved the moment one is born again, as a babe in Christ. Until the heart is fully prepared to act on and follow the commandments of God, through instruction in the Bible, led by the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to be “Christ Like.” Knowing God can only come by an intimate communion with Him, marked by obedience to the Lord’s commands. The disciple abides in Him when he fully experiences a knowledge of His love and grace. And that takes time to learn to keep His commandments, abiding in the Lord and fully resting or trust in Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

These 3 verses from the first Epistle of John, follow the preamble of verses 1 through 4. They set forth the importance of having a proper relationship with God that leads to fellowship with the Father and with his Son.

Starting in verse 5, John introduces God as “light” and that there is no darkness in Him at all. John is setting the table so to speak; in order to have fellowship with God, there are prerequisites.

In verses 6-7, we are introduced to “if, then” statements that John uses to demonstrate how the believer is to have fellowship with God or conversely, how to walk in darkness without fellowship with Him. John places the believers fellowship with God, Jesus Christ his own son, and fellow Christians as making his own decision to walk in darkness or walk in the light.

Verse number 6 concerns the Christian who says he has fellowship with God and yet he does not obey the commandments or following the truth of his teachings. John says, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth.” In other words, a person who declares that they have fellowship with God and yet denies His teachings is a liar! The “if, then” statement of this verse is simply: IF we say we have fellowship with God and yet walk in darkness, THEN we lie.

The antithesis of verse 6 is found in the following verse. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin.” John boldly announced to his readers that IF one is walking in the light THEN he is having fellowship with God and THEN he is being cleansed from all sin. As we have seen, “if, then” statements are conditional. In this case the condition is that the “cleansing from all sin” is conditional upon “walking in the light.”

Man, is not perfect, nor will he be perfect on this earth. There is nothing that man can do that will make him good enough to walk in the light. However, John makes it very clear that Christians are “walking in the light”, not due to anything they have accomplished, rather, it is what Jesus accomplished on the cross. The Christian does walk in the light and his sins are being cleansed not by any works that he could accomplish but rather by the work that Jesus did for mankind as he shed his blood on the cross. The continual process of a Christian’s “cleansing of sin”, is part of Sanctification and Justification.

In this discussion, and throughout the context of 1st John, the writer makes it very clear that he is not speaking about “positional sanctification”, which takes place at the moment of salvation. Rather, he is speaking about “progressive sanctification” which is a lifelong, continual process. Taking this one step further, John is not talking about cleansing from sin as it deals with salvation, instead, he is speaking about cleansing of sin for the purpose of having fellowship with God and with the brethren. For a Christian to have fellowship with God and other Christians, he must repent and confess his sins (progressive sanctification). The Christian must be willing to abide in communion with God by following all His commandments.

The significance of this teaching, is that God will not force his fellowship upon man just as he will not force salvation upon man. Man, is a free will agent and is responsible for all his own decisions. Man must choose salvation, he must choose to believe in God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Consequently, in order for man to have fellowship with God and his son Jesus Christ, he must choose obedience.

Using Galatians 1:1-5 as reference, the Apostle Paul gives an example of how the authority of God’s calling on our life should be protected and expressed.

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:1-5 ESV)

From a position of defending his call, the Apostle Paul gets right down to business and begins defending himself in the epistles salutation. He had a lot of ground to cover, and truth be known, so do men that are called of God into the ministry. A person that does not have the call of God to minster the Gospel, would never understand.

Paul declared to those looking to destroy his witness, that his calling and commission as an Apostle came from God and God alone; “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) (Galatians 1:1). His apostleship was not voted on by other apostles as was the case with Matthias, but his came from his Damascus Road experience, where Jesus personally called Paul, just as he had called Peter, Andrew, James, John and the others. The only difference was Paul’s calling came from the resurrected Christ.

My personal calling into the ministry, was established and commissioned by God and Him alone. It was His prompting that I heard, not the voice of man. He hand was moving on my life and I made the decision to follow Jesus as a minister. My calling was just as true and sure as the Apostle Paul’s.

Just being around the Apostle Paul convinced believers, that the he was God’s man. The change in Paul was the greatest argument for his calling. Everywhere Paul went, there was no question that the man, who previously was charged by the Jewish leaders to bring Jewish converts of Christ to the Temple for trial, was now in the enemies camp, a committed follower of Jesus Christ.

For me, this is a daily focus of my life; that others would see Jesus in me by the works that Jesus does through me. I should show fruit for people to see and by doing so, they will know that I am a man of God.

Even though Paul was slandered, ridiculed and not trusted, he wept, prayed and cared for them as a true shepherd. God gave him the fertile ground of Galatia in which to work, and Paul pastored his flock. All his flock, the good, the bad and the worst, did not keep him from completing the task that God set before him.

As a pastor, it is heartwarming to see through the eyes of Paul, as he shepherds his flock. His example is a tribute to God’s grace. That is my goal as well; to love the hard to love and those that would persecute, say evil things against me or to falsely accuse me. I want to show the same love that Christ did on the cross as He said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” That is the heart of Christ, and Paul “got it” from the beginning of his ministry. That is a great comfort to me and great examples of shepherding a flock.

Paul never backed away from giving the Gospel of Christ. The cost of his ministry was summed up in his epistle to the church at Corinth:But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:21-28 ESV).

Paul’s example of continuing the course that God had placed before him, no matter what the circumstances, is a great example to me as well. While I have not been imprisoned, shipwrecked, stoned, cold, hungry or destitute, it is my desire to proclaim to the world the mighty salvation and work of Christ. To this end, Jesus has called me and to this end I will go.

While this blog has concerned the walk of the Apostle and the Pastor, it is also a great comfort to every believer. God has called us to become a “new man” in Christ. No one can take that away. The creator of the universe, cares so much for you that Yahweh sent His Son to die in your place. For the believer, our task is sure:

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

It is very important to understand the history of Paul. In his own words, he describes himself as: “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.” (Acts 22:3-4).

Paul was not just a follower of Judaism; he was trained as a Pharisee and persecuted anyone that was not a devout adherent. This gives Paul great insight into the religion as well as describing his education. He was an enforcer of the Law. And yet now, he fully embraces salvation by grace as the only means of salvation.

Paul was God’s chosen vessel to proclaim grace to humanity and especially to the Gentiles. By his own words, it was by God’s grace that he was chosen for salvation and to be God’s messenger (Galatians 2:9).

Paul’s salvation (Acts 9) is well established by his first missionary journey in which he proclaimed the Gospel and started churches. His message of salvation is only by faith, by the Grace of God becomes the main point in all his writings.

The Apostle Paul, from the outset of the epistle to Galatia, is dealing with the heresy of adding requirements to the Gospel of Grace by faith. There is a great difference in believing that the grace of God is all that is required for salvation and those that would add works to salvation (circumcision in this case).

The Greek word for grace is charis. It is only found 13 times in the Gospels, but over 144 times in Paul’s writing. Paul’s epistles always use grace doctrinally, in connection with the dispensation of Grace.

The Apostle Paul goes so far as to proclaim; “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)

Paul never said it was wrong for Jews to be circumcised. He never said that it was wrong to keep the Law or to observe the Jewish festivals. He said that these have nothing to do with salvation. While customs and practices may differ, salvation never differs. There is only one way to be saved and that is by the Grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote at least 13 books of the New Testament (many theologians believe he also wrote the book of Hebrews). Some of his epistles (letters) were written to individuals (Timothy and Titus), and the rest to churches.

The epistle of Galatians was written to the churches scattered throughout Galatia (a portion of modern Turkey). It is one of the most important writings of Paul in establishing the importance of Grace compared to the Law.

The main purpose of the Book of Galatians is to vindicate Paul’s call by God and the Gospel of Grace. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7)

Paul and salvation by grace alone were under attack by those in the churches of Galatia. Galatian churches were a mix of Jews and Gentiles. Some of the Jewish believers still held to the Jewish Law and traditions, called Judaizers. The term Judaizer, comes from the Greek word meaning “to live according to Jewish customs.” Their teaching states that God’s grace and human effort were required for salvation. Paul considered this theology heresy and those that teach it as false teachers, even though they professed to be followers of Christ. The problem hinged on two points: 1) If they were going to continue to keep the Law as part of their salvation, then they adhered to a belief that a person was partly saved by faith and partly by works. 2) To continue following the traditions and practices of Jewish custom, they taught that the spiritual growth of the person was partly by faith and partly by their own effort. For the Judaizers, a belief in Christ also meant following the main ritual of religion, specifically around circumcision, while adding works, such as, observing all the ceremonies, traditions and rituals of Judaism. This was a heavy burden for the Gentile converts.

Their teaching was in contradiction to the Apostle Paul’s teaching. Paul writes that salvation is by Christ and Christ alone. Paul taught that the message of God’s grace, of pure grace is salvation by Christ alone. A person cannot win, earn or deserve salvation, it is a gift of God and not of works. (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Therefore, the Judaizers charged that the Gospel that Paul was teaching was deceitful and that his apostleship was a false claim of his own making. They reasoned that he could not be a true minister or Apostle of the Lord as he claimed, by his own statement of his beliefs. They reasoned that by cutting out or minimizing the Law that he could not be a true, God called, minister of the Law.

Paul’s defense of the Gospel and his calling is the main focus of the epistle to the churches in Galatia.